When you should stop drinking before driving the next morning
IAM RoadSmart, a road safety charity, warned that drinking alcohol the night before driving could pose a 'serious threat ' because a 'groggy head' means slower reaction times.
A survey commissioned by the charity suggests that more than a fifth (21 per cent) of motorists have drunk alcohol after 10pm when needing to drive before 9am the following morning.
The survey of 1,072 UK motorists also indicated that 38 per cent of people who had consumed several alcoholic drinks ahead of driving before 9am stopped drinking after 9pm.
Drinkaware, the drink-driving charity, states that alcohol is removed from the body at a rate of one unit per hour, although this varies depending on weight, liver health and metabolism.
Around three large glasses of wine or three pints of high-strength beer or cider are the equivalent of nine units. Someone consuming those drinks up to 10pm could still have alcohol in their body at 7am or later, IAM RoadSmart warned.
'Drink-driving is a killer'
Nicholas Lyes, the charity's director of policy and standards, said: ' Drink-driving is a killer, and drivers may be unwittingly getting into their vehicle in the morning unaware that they could be doing so illegally if they have been drinking alcohol the night before, posing a serious threat to the safety of others.
'Even if they are just inside the legal limit, the level of alcohol in their system will impair their reaction times. Moreover, consuming alcohol impacts on sleep quality.'
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for roads policing, said: 'There is simply no excuse for getting behind the wheel when you are impaired through drink or drugs, and this includes the morning after.
'If you choose to do so, you are putting your life and the lives of others at risk.'
The survey also suggested nearly a third (31 per cent) of drivers had been with a friend or relative in the previous 12 months who drank alcohol before getting into a vehicle.
Some 72 per cent of this group warned them that they should not drive, while 23 per cent said they took no action.
Four out of five (81 per cent) of those polled said rehabilitation courses should become mandatory for anyone convicted of a drink-drive offence. Currently, the courses are sometimes offered in return for a shorter driving ban.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency statistics previously obtained by the PA news agency revealed that 27,837 British motorists were convicted of drink-driving on more than one occasion in the 11 years to July 20 last year.
Some 372 were caught four times or more. Of these, four were prosecuted on seven occasions.
Drink-driving crashes kill 300 a year
The latest Department for Transport (DfT) figures show that, in 2022, an estimated 300 people were killed in crashes on Britain's roads, involving at least one driver over the legal alcohol limit.
That was up from 260 the previous year and was the highest total since 2009, when 380 deaths were recorded.
Separate figures show there are more drink drive-related casualties in July than any other month of the year.
The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. Nowhere else in Europe has a limit above 50mg per 100ml. The Scottish Government reduced its limit to that level in 2014.
A DfT spokesman said: 'We take road safety extremely seriously, and there are already strict penalties in place for those who are caught drink-driving, with rehabilitation courses offered to those convicted and banned from driving for over a year.
'While we don't have plans to mandate these courses, we are committed to improving road safety, and our Think! campaign will next week launch its summer drink-drive activity, timed to coincide with the National Police Chiefs' Council's Operation Spotlight.'
IAM RoadSmart commissioned research company Online95 to conduct the survey of 1,072 UK motorists last month.
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